


Zhi Yin

by Aloice



Series: jayceofpiltover tumblr drabble collection [8]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: M/M, new universe lore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 03:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12808566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aloice/pseuds/Aloice
Summary: Null Hypothesis: science = music.Alternative hypothesis: Jayce is a grade S shitlord and Viktor is too smart for the room.A Jayce/Viktor tale of consonance and fallout.





	Zhi Yin

**Author's Note:**

> (First posted on my Jayce RP tumblr, April 2017)

Jayce stood at the edge of pomp and circumstance, grinding his teeth.

It was Progress Day: the smell of indifferent gold and the hope of wide-eyed young apprenta mingled in the air, and he had  _almost_  managed a plea to keep the workshop open so he would not have to get out onto the streets. “I don’t need anyone to stay behind with me,” he had said in his most patient voice, “I’ll get the wrench ready a week before schedule, and I’ll be out before dinner.” The Master had been entertaining the idea before the Lady cut him off: Jayce would have to learn to socialize, she had said. “Maybe we could still recruit Rhoda if you’ll agree to dance with her,” she had said sweetly, and two of her men had escorted Jayce out of the room before he had a chance to retort. Jayce didn’t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry.

Silently fuming with anger, he had strode past lines of apprenta waiting for their examinations, not looking at any of them as he swept past their admiring eyes and attempts to create talk. Perhaps the children would argue that they all lived in Piltover, but Jayce knew he had discovered - and now resided - in a world none of them could ever dare to reach. The world of scientific fancy. The world where the very air and foundation of the city itself changed according to his whims.

It had been half an hour before he found the party and settled as far away from the dance floor as possible. Someone had brought him a cup of water, someone else a plate of exotic fruits. He bit into everything angrily, almost reveling in his ability to get away with such displays of emotion.  _Just focus on his talent_ , he remembered the words of a Giopara master,  _he’s worth more than his weight in gold._

“I’m worth more than my weight in crystals,” he muttered under his breath, suddenly prideful.

He was being dumb, he knew - if he cared to socialize, he’d likely triple his worth in the eyes of the city. Piltover thrived on networks and compliments, and the approval of the right people could open dozens of doors. Jayce felt his nose wrinkle up in distaste.  _Corruption_. He had always only stopped by the statue of honesty - and so far it had worked out pretty well, thank you very much. He didn’t  _need_ to earn himself a house of gold to be fulfilled.

In his almost-trance he had missed the entry of someone else into the room; someone with dark hair and a Zaunite air, a very different demeanor, a very different voice. That man spoke up now, a hint of amusement in an undisguised Zaun accent. “Trying to succeed where Praveen has failed?”

“He has failed to take into account the interactive properties of crystals,” he replied without hesitation. “It is true that there is no time in the discharge of a single crystal’s power to adjust it with any degree of control, yet if one considers the newest readings from the Shuriman manuscripts along with Boloris’ data - ”

“Then one can presumably design an experiment with crystals of complementary spins,” the man finished, the hint of amusement still lingering in his voice. Jayce turned, caught in surprise. The eyes that gazed back and studied him were mismatched in color, yet friendly. “Say, are you by chance also unimpressed with parties?”

“Always,” Jayce replied, “But I believe we haven’t met - what is your name?”

 

Theirs was a queer relationship, in more ways than one.

The Giopara clan and Professor Stanwick did not see eye to eye, yet he had convinced the man to let them work together, and what happened since could only be described as extraordinary. Jayce found himself humming on the way to the workshop, smiling despite himself at the bright morning day, absentmindedly wondering if Viktor had already obtained his cup of coffee for the day. They were working two weeks ahead of schedule; Viktor had commented the previous day that if they kept up with their progress, they could presumably churn out a whole new project by the season’s end. The prospect of working on a whole new project with Viktor warmed Jayce’s heart, made his lips inadvertently curl up in excitement. It bothered him -  _what is this, a teenage romance or something?_  - yet he put it aside, knowing just how important their work had been and could be.  _We are the most dynamic working duo the city has seen in centuries._

Viktor raised an eyebrow as Jayce walked in. “Do you have it?” He asked, as the star struck apprenta in the room struggled to understand what the Zaunite was inquiring about.

“Give me another two days.” Jayce hung his coat and walked towards Viktor. The glint in the Zaunite’s eye was everything he had ever wanted to see in a workshop. He deposited two crystals onto the workshop table, and pulled out a roll of wax-paper. “I need to run the trial again. Just to be thorough. I’m sure you understand.”

“Don’t forget the decay factor,” Viktor replied mildly, pulled the roll towards himself, and began to write.

 

_Why should we care that he’s from Zaun? He’s produced more work - higher quality work - than six Piltovians put together. And I can speak for his mentality. He’s just as much a man of innovation and discovery as me. Better - he has more decorum and tact, even hailing from Zaun. We can speak for each other. It is the perfect dynamic._

_Do you not see how he’s affecting your reputation? We do not need to associate you with any more rumors and scandals, Jayce. You have enough problems of your own._

_What rumors? What scandals? We are simply scientists working in the City of Progress._

_You know the clan - the city - is about more than just science and wealth, Thundershield. Editorials have been written about your arguments with the Zaunite. Everyone’s watching your every move._

 

He loved watching Viktor work.

There was a rhythm to it, a method, a passion. Jayce didn’t doubt that most scientists and artisans working in Piltover had dreams, yet he doubted that many have one beyond securing a well-paying and well-respected position for themselves. There was a dream of humanity in the way Viktor moves, the way he spoke of what the future holds. When his circuits connected and his crystals spun, a kaleidoscope of potential seemed to vibrate and sing.

What did they always say?  _That life’s greatest sorrow to be alone_ , Jayce thought, squinting as he picked up half a dozen tiny lights and chains. Viktor would doubtlessly chew him out for relying on intuition to install these parts, yet Jayce was confident that the results from the next trial would back up his approach.  _Come on, you have to admit that intuition is a beautiful thing._  Viktor was always precise, leaving nothing to chance, verifying everything before going to the next step; slowly, Jayce had come to appreciate the Zaunite’s methods, although he’d never admit that to Viktor’s face.  _Show me more_  was what he truly wanted to say; his heart hungered for all the possibilities the Zaunite had exposed, all the potential, the entire future of humanity. Perhaps they could go out for coffee again one day, and Viktor would open up slightly more about the truths of his city - although Jayce loathed to question his beliefs on the dichotomy of Zaun and Piltover, he had slowly began to accept that he would need to know more about Zaun to refine his work.

“Jayce, did you testify for me?” A voice drifted from the other room.

“Hm?” He had hoped that Viktor would have let that matter go. After a dinner with two masters of the college, Jayce had discerned that Stanwick was determined to win his case - which meant that not only could Viktor lose the case, he could potentially lose his partnership with Jayce as well. While Viktor would doubtlessly fight to the end for himself, Jayce was not ready to lose the one thing that made him eager to climb out of bed in the morning.  _I suppose you could call me selfish. But it’s beyond just you and me - it’s what we can accomplish together for the good of the city, the combined might of our minds, the idea that two ostracized scientists can collaborate their way to greatness._ If Viktor couldn’t even work with Jayce anymore, who would sponsor him? “I didn’t, sorry.”  _Sorry not sorry._

The silence from the Zaunite that day stung Jayce more than anything he’d ever experienced. He found himself stopping by a pub after work, chugging drink after drink in an angry daze.  _I will not let Viktor control my life_ , he thought sourly, and immediately facepalmed at himself for thinking that thought at all.

 

 _Have you seen the crystal?_  Only briefly, but it fits your model.

 _The spin pattern is not working._  Have you tried breaking up the crystal itself?

 _Try to sweet talk Forelle if you can. He doesn’t care for his workers, but we need data on their lung function and bone mass._  Duly noted.

Jayce was replaying all their previous conversations in his head when Viktor spoke up. “I don’t want to work with him.”

Jayce found something within himself cracking, yet he still cracked a smile. The masters were watching. What came out of his mouth sounded like honey laced with spite. “You will not find better scientists for this project. I will convince him to stay within the bounds of our ethics regulations.”

Viktor voiced his protest. Jayce closed his eyes. The masters turned towards Viktor. “We will start evaluating this project in two months.”

And that was the beginning of the end.

 

_Please understand me. Please understand my music. Please understand humanity._

They sat opposite each other, neither looking at the other. The data had come back, the words had been screamed, the bonds had been broken. Jayce shook his head slowly and repetitively at the perfect marble tiles on the floor - he needed an awakening, too much of this had been dreaming. His mind felt numb, vulnerable. He was still angry - more angry than he could and did put into words - yet a deep emptiness had come over him, taking advantage of his lack of struggle, shrouding him in its hold. What minds had been so intimately connected now recoiled from each other, disgusted. One of Jayce’s own prototype hammers lay on a table just a few feet away, and Jayce imagined swinging it over Viktor’s head and shoulders, slicing Viktor’s brilliance open.

_I’d rid us of a monster._

It didn’t feel convincing in his mouth, he probably didn’t want it to sound convincing in his mouth, yet Jayce felt his fingers curl inwards into fists. How did that Ionian story end? Zhong Ziqi had died, and Yu Boya had destroyed his instrument in rage and despair. The ruins of the chem-shunt helm prototype on the workshop table gazed back somberly at Jayce, the smoke from the burning parts still cycling in the cold air, and Jayce smiled as he felt something inside of him die. He had razed Viktor’s instrument.

_But I wouldn’t die for you. Not all of me._

He wasn’t going to ponder over how much of that had been a lie.

 

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.

Outside the main gate of the Academy, Jayce stared down from the heights of Piltover to the depths of Zaun, counting irregular golden ratio breaths.

 _It’s a long way down from here_.

What kind of music had he tried to compose with Viktor? An ode for humanity? A requiem? How many movements did it have? How many pauses? Did it even have a melody?

The song in the Piltovian’s mind was fading.

“Reject the null hypothesis,” he whispered - and didn’t look back.


End file.
